Actors On The Shortlist For Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer Revealed

For the past few months we've heard a couple names suggested on the shortlist of Bryan Singer's next film, Jack The Giant Killer - a version of the classic fairly tale in which giants kidnap a princess and Jack, a young farmer, is tasked with leading a group to rescue her. Names like Aaron Johnson and Alex Pettyfer have been bouncing around for the the male lead, but now we have our first real look at the shortlist of actors being considered for both the roles of Jack and the princess.

THR has gotten its hands on on a list of three actors and three actresses that are currently in the running for parts in the in the project. Amongst the names mentioned for Jack include the previously mentioned Aaron Johnson, British actor Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man, X-Men: First Class), and newcomer Aneurin Bernard, who will be making his feature debut in next year's Ironclad. As for the princess, Australian actress Adelaide Kane (Neighbours, Power Rangers R.P.M.), Lily Collins (The Blind Side) and Juno Temple (Year One, Atonement) are also being considered. Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd) was originally on the list, but was forced to cancel his screen test when he broke his ankle. Production is currently scheduled to begin in March after delays pushed back the film this summer.

While I still maintain some anticipation for the project, I must say that the red-band trailer for Your Highness a few weeks back takes some of the wind out of Jack The Giant Killer's sails. Both movies are set in medieval times and involve the kidnapping of a princess by a mythical character. The problem is that Your Highness goes about it in a very silly and vulgar way while Singer's film is being planned as a serious action/adventure story. Fortunately, the two films will have a great deal of time between release dates (the comedy will be released only a month after Jack goes into production), so perhaps the public's short attention span will work in the latter film's favor. Either way it will be interesting to compare and contrast the two projects.